


with you by my side

by hazyfog



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Gender Neutral Apprentice, Sharing a Bed, no spoliers for asras route, the apprentice can't sleep alone... what a predicament, who needs melatonin when you have asra, why is sleepy asra so cute....
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26005123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazyfog/pseuds/hazyfog
Summary: On the apprentice's first night staying in the palace they find themself unable to sleep. Whether it's due to the weird vibes that seem to permeate the palace, the general unfamiliarity of the room, or the absence of a certain fluffy haired magician... the apprentice couldn't tell you.No gendered pronouns are used for the apprentice!
Relationships: Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana), Asra (The Arcana)/Reader
Comments: 9
Kudos: 114





	with you by my side

**Author's Note:**

> i love cheesy tropey fluff :) this takes place so early in the story that nothing much happens but perhaps i'll write a follow up someday...

You’ve always been a light sleeper. You can usually fall asleep in seconds, a life of sleep deprivation making you equally able to sleep on a bed or upright against a wall. Staying asleep however, that’s another question.

You’re used to the shop, being tucked into bed alongside Asra, who sleeps like a log and moves about as much as one. His only fault is that he is an incurable blanket stealer, he likes to cocoon himself in all of the blankets he can reach, leaving you cold in the middle of the night. Any attempts to wrestle a corner back seem futile under his solidly sleeping form- and you usually can’t bring yourself to disrupt his sleep when he looks so cute when he sleeps, mouth always slightly agape. 

Asra always falls asleep easily and his quiet breathing usually lulls you to sleep, knowing that he’s there next to you makes you feel secure enough to sleep. You can’t remember what it was like before Asra, where or who you might have slept next to. In the last three years since you can remember you’ve slept beside him. He’s always been there to comfort you through nightmares, to offer soothing teas when your headaches were bad, his presence has been the only constant you can remember.

When he’s off travelling you find it very difficult to sleep. You often wear one of his scarves for comfort, the smell of him giving you a sense of peace that allows you to rest. More often than not you don’t sleep when he’s gone and Asra arrives home to find you with dark circles, tending the shop like a zombie and trying to stay coherent through caffeinated teas. When this happens he always declares the shop closed for the rest of the day and settles down for a nice long nap next to you.

Here in the palace though, everything is unfamiliar and cold. Sure, the room you’d been shown to was lovely, the bed is comfortable, the linens finer than what you’re used to. You know that if you need anything you could easily call for a servant, perhaps for Portia the Countess’ handmaiden you’d met earlier that day, but it’s not the same.

You’re sure you’ll fall asleep with no problem after a long day of meeting new people, including not a few rude and unusual courtiers, and beginning a murder investigation. Arriving in the room with sleep-heavy eyes you fall into bed fully clothed, reaching only to pull your shoes off. 

Sure, you fall asleep fast- but what feels like seconds later you jerk awake, sitting up stock straight in bed to listen for what had awoken you. The candles in the room are still burning but getting quite low. You don't fancy being in an unfamiliar room in the dark so you hurriedly cast a spell to replenish the candles. Feeling better as all of the shadows in the room disappear, you lay back down to attempt to sleep. 

Again, a sound. 

Wrenched from sleep again, you huff and decide to try to get more comfortable, removing your travelling clothes in favor of a pile of soft pajamas laid out on a chair at the end of the bed- no doubt a gift from Nadia. They even have your name stitched onto them, you marvel, and in your favorite color too… how had Nadia known? You get under the covers fully this time, tucking the soft sheets around you and plumping the pillows behind your head. At least Asra won’t steal any blankets from you tonight, you think with an endearing smile. Nighttime routine completed for the moment, you resolve to try sleep again. You really are tired. 

This time it's not a sound that wakes you up, but a feeling of absence. You roll over in your sleep expecting to find someone else beside you, the empty space you reach for is enough to wake you up. All of the candles in the room are out and for a moment you panic, forgetting where you are. Pulling the bed covers over your head, you try to slow your breathing. You’re fine, you tell yourself. The candles could have gone out on their own, Portia could have come in to put them out, there’s nothing to worry about. But you know that if someone had come into the room you would've heard it. 

Seconds pass, you don’t hear anything. 

Stolen blankets be damned, you wish Asra was here. Thinking of him reminds you of magic, and you feel silly thinking of the fear that the dark room instills in you when you can so easily produce a light. You do just that, summoning a light into your hands and casting it out to where you know the candles should be. Feeling much better, you push the covers back and sit up immediately rubbing at your eyes which sting in the newly brightened room. You won’t get any sleep at this rate.

Part of you is seriously considering going home for the night and returning in the morning well rested and ready to face whatever surprises this investigation has for you, but you don’t want to be rude when Nadia has been so kind in welcoming you as a guest. And Asra isn’t even at home, off on another trip, so there's no guarantee you’d be able to sleep there either. Something still feels off though, the lights going out like that has you on edge. You don’t see anything wrong in the room, no presence except your own fear which still crawls its way into your throat. 

Minutes pass and you wonder if you should get up to investigate, or even just to find someone awake in the palace to talk to. Being alone isn’t something you’re good at, especially at night. You’re startled by a knock at the door. It’s a light knock, just two raps against the wood, but you know who it is.

Asra.

The door opens and the room is flooded with more light from the hall, framing the figure standing there. Fluffy hair alight like a halo in the candlelight he steps into the room. There’s a grin on his face as he sees you, but it fades as he takes in your face and the fear which still sits in your features. 

“What’s wrong?” He shuts the door gently behind him as he steps towards you to kneel at the side of your bed. He takes your hands in his and you’re instantly comforted by the warmth you feel emanating from him.

“How, or rather, why are you here?” You ask, wondering at his sudden appearance. “I thought you were on a trip?” 

“I was, but I came back. I had a feeling you might need my help.” He smiles as you relax into his touch. “And it seems I was right. What’s got you so scared?” 

“It’s the palace, something feels… wrong. I woke up just now and all of the candles in my room were out, and I’m sure nobody’s been in here.” You explain, glancing around the room as if to check to make sure there isn’t someone hiding in a corner. 

“That certainly is strange…” Asra wonders, letting go of you to stand up. He walks around the small room, inspecting each of the candles as he goes. “I don’t feel anything in the room and the candles seem untouched.”

“There’s just something off about this place.” You huff. “I don’t like it here.” Asra laughs, turning back around to face you.

“Are you sure you weren’t just scared because you’re here by yourself? I know you don’t like sleeping alone.” He’s still smiling but his eyes are serious, he’s trying not to show his concern. You can’t tell whether it's concern for the situation or just for you and your discomfort at sleeping alone. 

“I don’t know, but what I do know is that something else is going on here beyond just me being scared.” You mutter. You see Asra’s eyebrows raise in question, adding defensively, “I just don’t know what it is yet.”

“I believe you, but you’ll have plenty of time to look around tomorrow. I’ll help you look.” He sits on the edge of the bed next to you. After a minute he sighs and brings his eyes back to meet yours. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen Nadia.” 

“You know the Countess?” You ask, surprised that he’d never mentioned her before. Then again, there isn’t much he has mentioned, Asra is nothing if not secretive. 

“I knew her a long time ago, but that’s a story for another time. Come on, let's get you to sleep.” He lifts the covers off of you and you move over so that he can slide underneath next to you.

“Did you come all this way just to sleep next to me?” You smile, just a hint of teasing in your voice.

“I.. uh… couldn’t sleep either. I was worried about you.” He admits, his cheeks flushing a little at the admission. You can’t help but smile at his bashful expression as he scooches closer to you, an arm snaking out to wrap around your waist. “I know we’ll both sleep better this way, you look tired.” He’s right of course. You settle against his side unable to stop smiling at him as his flush grows brighter against his tanned skin. He walked all the way across town in the middle of the night just to sleep next to you, and for some reason that thought has your heart rate increasing erratically. You’re not sure why you feel so excited, after all you’re used to sharing a bed with him. But you can’t deny that his care for you has you swooning just a bit. You mentally chide yourself to relax as you hear Asra’s breath start to slow, his head coming to rest right next to yours. 

“Asra?” You whisper, not knowing if he’s fallen asleep already.

“Yeah?” He murmurs back, eyes opening slowly to glance at you. Your faces are only inches apart and your breath catches in your throat as his eyes rove over your face. You’ve been this close to him a thousand times, slept next to him and woken up in his arms. But for some reason it’s never felt like this. The silence and the space between you feels charged and you swear that Asra leans a little closer. You tell yourself that it must be the sleep deprivation… or the weird vibes of the palace, but you feel yourself lean closer to him too. Asra’s eyes shoot down to glance at your lips and for one breathless second you think he might be about to kiss you when he sighs and pulls back, resting his forehead against yours. You know you need to say something, to break this heavy moment. 

“Asra I-” You don’t really know how to voice what you’re feeling right now. “Thank you.” He laughs a little at that, forehead still pressed gently to yours. 

“Let’s get some sleep.” He says in response, rolling away from you to rest on the pillow again. You can't help but audibly sigh as you lose physical contact with him but your disappointment doesn’t last long as he reaches out, hand holding yours under the covers. You feel your face grow hot and are glad that he’s closed his eyes and can’t watch the way that his simple gesture has you so worked up. 

These feelings are somehow not entirely new, distantly you think you remember blushing and flirting and... wanting. You can’t put a name to it yet but you can’t help but wonder how long you’ve actually known Asra, and what you might’ve been through together. Thoughts swirl through your head begging for attention but then the hand holding yours squeezes tightly and your brain stops its tiring loop all at once. These are thoughts for another day.

“Go to sleep.” Asra murmurs sleepily. So you do, lulled by his calm breathing and comforting hand in yours. Knowing he's there is enough, you can face anything if Asra’s by your side.


End file.
